Diversity Speaker Series 2015

2015 NRAO Diversity Speaker Series

Diversity Speakers may visit, and present from, any one of the NRAO sites. In most cases, time will be allocated to allow NRAO staff to meet the speakers, and ask questions. When possible, talks will be broadcast to all NRAO sites, and recorded, so that those who are interested may view the material when time permits.

With the speaker's permission, each presentation will be available for viewing from the NRAO website.

Note that some talks are not filmed, or broadcast, by the speaker's request.

Originally from the great state of New York, Nicholas Hunt-Walker is a graduate student researcher at the University of Washington's department of Astronomy. In his off-time he practices Capoeira and tries to see how data can describe our world.

Kim Scott is a data scientist at Elder Research, a consulting firm that specializes in analytics. She graduated from the University of Evansville with a BS in Physics and Mathematics, and went on to earn a PhD in Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Aomawa Shields is an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow and a UC President's Postdoctoral Fellow in the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She received her PhD in Astronomy and Astrobiology in 2014 from the University of Washington, and conducts research in the emerging field of exoplanet climates and habitability. She is one of only two astrophysicists to be recognized as a 2015 TED fellow.

Tania Burchell is the interim Assistant Director for Education and Public Outreach at NRAO. She uses her experience in astronomy research to lead the talented team that delivers a myriad of STEM stories and programs based on NRAO science and technology that are explored and enjoyed by millions of learners every year.

Rodolfo Montez, Jr. received his PhD from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 and is currently a postdoctoral scholar at Vanderbilt and Fisk Universities where he maintains an active research and mentorship program with the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master's to PhD Bridge Program.

As an American of Turkish descent, Jeyhan Kartaltepe has a unique perspective on the path of minorities working to establish a career in science. In this presentation, Jeyhan discusses the challenges she faced in pursuing her career and gives some advice to students.